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Early ancestor of Tyrannosaur found

LONDON, BRITAIN — A previously unknown relative of Tyrannosaurus rex has been unearthed in Britain, adding a limb to the family tree of the fearsome predator, scientists said Wednesday.

Eotyrannus lengi, named after collector Gavin Leng, who found the first bone on the Isle of Wight, was a 15-foot-long carnivore that lived 120 million to 125 million years ago.

Paleontologists described the discovery as one of the most important archeological finds made in Britain.

Martin Munt, acting curator of the Museum of Isle of Wight Geology, which is coordinating the dig, said the Eotyrannus--"early tyrant"--was an important piece in the evolutionary jigsaw of T-rex.

"The remains start to fill in the family tree of life. They are a missing link. The T-rex was around 60 to 70 million years ago. At that time this skeleton was already 55 million years old," Munt said.

"We are really pushing back to the origins of the group of dinosaurs that gave us T-rex."